Matilda on Tour - Exploring St Elena and Despeñaperros

From The Plains To The Hills

Day 13 – Friday 16 October 2026

🇪🇸 Santa Elena, Jaén – Andalusia, Spain

Moving day today, and we were up and out by 10.

We stopped off in Valdepeñas for a wander around. It’s a nice town, and we soon found our way to the main square, where we happily whiled away a couple of hours, just sitting and watching the world go by.

Before leaving, we called into Lidl to stock up on groceries. The cupboards were looking rather bare, so it was good to have food on board again!

 Aswe continued our journey, the landscape began to change. We left the wide-open plains behind and headed into rolling hills, with wooded slopes, tunnels and the occasional viaduct along the way. Quite a contrast, and it certainly made for an interesting drive.

There were a few dark clouds gathering on the horizon, though. We’ve been so lucky with the weather so far, so fingers crossed it holds a little longer.

Our campsite is on the edge of Santa Elena, close to Despeñaperros Natural Park. It has a good feel to it, although it’s certainly not as peaceful as our last site. We were rather spoilt there!

Tomorrow we’ll head out and explore the area and see what we can find.

A Glorious Ride Through The Spanish Countryside

Day 14 – Saturday 17 October 2026

🇪🇸 Santa Elena, Jaén – Andalusia, Spain

Another day dawned, blue skies overhead and Matilda parked up on a rustic campsite with lovely views over the olive groves.

Time to sort out today’s cycling route. The plan was 20 miles, down to La Carolina and back up to Santa Elena.

What a glorious ride out. Mostly downhill, through forests full of Spanish oaks, passing deserted homes, blackened tree trunks and bare patches of earth, evidence of a previous forest fire.

The road wound round and round the valley sides until eventually the views opened out. We could see for miles. Definitely a wow moment!

Arriving in La Carolina, it took us a while to find the town square, but we eventually got there.

We met Amir, who had grown up in Leeds and was now back living in his family home. He proudly told us about the history of his hometown, founded in 1767 and designed as a model for the new towns of the time.

He showed us the church, the magnificent square with its perfectly straight roads stretching away in both directions, and a notice board explaining the town’s history.

Amir chatted away, telling us how safe he felt living here, especially with all the madness going on in the world today. He even offered us lunch!

What a lovely unexpected encounter.

After thanking Amir, we returned to the bikes for the uphill ride home. Surprisingly, it wasn’t nearly as bad as we’d expected. We slowly made our way back up the valley and before long were back in Santa Elena.

A stop at a local hostelry for a few refreshments before heading back to camp rounded off a lovely day.

This campsite is completely different from our last stop, but I think we’ll be happy here for a few days.

It’s amazing how quickly the days are flying past. Four weeks just doesn’t seem enough, but the ferry home is booked!

Roads to Nowhere

Day 15 - Sunday 18 October 2026

Santa Elena, Jaén, Spain

A slow start this morning. We’d been expecting torrential rain, so we hadn’t made any plans for the day. Thankfully, the bad weather missed us, and with the skies looking more promising, we decided to head out on the bikes.

We soon discovered that many of the old roads seem to have been cut off since the motorway was built.

Our first route took us down through the hills, the road twisting and turning as we descended. A pause at the viewpoint was well worth it, with fantastic views across the surrounding countryside.

Down, down, down we went, losing 1,000 feet in just five miles. Of course, what goes down must come back up, and we knew our legs were in for a good workout!

Eventually, the road came to an abrupt end just beyond the river, where locked gates blocked our way. Mind you, the last stretch was hideous, with the tarmac badly damaged. We could see the old road winding its way up the hillside on the other side, but there was no way through. It certainly looked as though the road had once continued.

With no choice but to turn around, we faced those brutal climbs back up the valley. There doesn’t seem to be a flat road anywhere around here!

Arriving back in Santa Elena, we set off on the second leg of our ride. This was much more undulating, with absolutely perfect tarmac and hardly a car to be seen.

Reaching Miranda del Rey, we came to another abrupt stop. A tiny village, just a handful of houses, and the road turned to gravel.

We’d spotted the national park visitor centre on our way out, so we stopped to take a look on the way back. Several walking trails start from there, so tomorrow’s walk is sorted!

Not much wildlife today, just cows, goats with their bells tinkling away, and an absolutely magnificent specimen of a horse standing in one of the fields. We also spotted five enormous birds circling high above us. Were they vultures? They were far too high to identify properly.

Back in Santa Elena, we stopped at the local hostelry for some well-earned refreshments. I thought the Brits knew how to party, but the Spanish were in full flow!

We’ve decided to stay another two nights. There’s still plenty to explore, and tomorrow’s walk is already sorted.

A Walk Through Three Different Landscapes

Day 16 – Monday 19 October 2026 |

Despeñaperros Natural Park, Santa Elena, Spain

Overnight rain had cleared by the time we got up, although the skies were still grey — not quite the weather we’ve become used to here in Spain.

After a short drive, we arrived at the car park for the start of today’s walk. Waterproofs packed, we were ready to explore.

Leaving the van, we started down a wide forest track, heading into the woodland.

It wasn’t long before we came across signs of a huge forest fire. The damage stretched as far as the eye could see in every direction.

Scorched trees stood amongst the devastation, many still covered in reddish-brown needles. What caught my eye were the magnificent tall pine trees. Their lower branches were bare, yet their crowns were still a beautiful bright green, standing out against the burnt landscape.

Despite all the fire damage, there were encouraging signs of recovery. Small wildflowers were appearing amongst the blackened ground, bringing little splashes of colour to an otherwise rather bleak landscape.

There were butterflies too, fluttering amongst the flowers. It was lovely to see nature beginning to recover, even though the scars of the fire were still very much in evidence.

Eventually, we reached a road and followed it along to a large recreational area at La Aliseda. There were stone barbecues, a children’s playground and two small reservoirs, which looked as though they might have been used for swimming. Looking at the water, I certainly didn’t fancy a dip!

Retracing our steps, we eventually turned off the main track onto a much smaller path through oak woodland.

The landscape changed completely. Gone were the tall pines and fire-damaged trees, replaced by oak trees, dried grass and small bushes. It felt like a different walk altogether.

We stopped several times, listening and looking for wildlife. The path gradually became rougher as we made our way through the woodland.

Just before the end of the walk, Richard spotted a group of deer galloping across the path in front of us. They really were a fabulous sight!

What a lovely way to finish the walk. We’d passed through three completely different landscapes, discovered a few unexpected places and ended with a glimpse of wildlife. Not a bad afternoon at all!

Tomorrow we are off to the mountains